Richmond, Virginia—Dominion Energy, which operates the coal-powered Clover Power Station and Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC), has petitioned the Trump administration for an exemption to Biden-era environmental regulations requiring coal producers to lower mercury and particle emissions that they release into the air. Dominion had also agreed to transition away from coal mining and towards renewable energy by 2030; it now says that it has no plans to retire either Virginia coal plant before 2045. Dominion will not be passing these cost savings from these exemptions to ratepayers: earlier this month, the wildly profitable energy conglomerate announced that it was proposing a 15% base rate increase on consumers. 

“Our community cannot survive without clean air to breathe and clean water to drink—and we won’t stand by while greedy energy companies poison our future just to pad their profits,” said LaTwyla Mathias, Executive Director at Progress Virginia. “We need to create an energy system that can weather climate change and continue to power everyone’s needs over the next several decades. But instead, these corporations are doubling down on dirty coal, wrecking our environment, and gouging families at the same time—all while hiding behind loopholes handed to them by the Trump EPA and the Youngkin-Sears administration. It’s no surprise that Dominion and other big polluters are exploiting every opportunity to make a quick buck at our expense, but it is absolutely outrageous that they are sacrificing our health, our climate, and our future to make a quick buck. People in our community deserve leaders who will stand up to these corporate bullies—not join them. We’re fighting to elect leadership that will slam the brakes on these shameless money grabs and finally put people first.”

Background:

• On April 8th, Donald Trump issued an executive order propping up coal mining, including granting broad exemptions from Inflation Reduction Act environmental regulations, allowing coal mining in national parks and on federal lands, and shifting AI data centers to coal-powered energy consumption.  
• Under the stipulations of the Inflation Reduction Act, the executive branch may only grant exemptions to the regulations in a time of national emergency or when the appropriate technology to enact the regulations is not yet available. Neither of those conditions for exemption has currently been met. 
• Dominion, whose environmental record throughout Virginia has been, at best, checkered, was one of the first companies to ask for and receive exemptions that would allow its coal operations in Virginia and West Virginia to continue to pollute our air and waterways.